Looking back at Microsoft’s 2018, you could make the argument that the company ended on an all-time high. After all, it’s the most valuable company in the world.

But our readers buy Microsoft products, not Microsoft stock. From that perspective (and with all due respect to Microsoft’s enterprise business, which isn’t part of what we cover here at PCWorld), Microsoft’s record was conservative and somewhat underwhelming, with a few exceptions. Microsoft added merely a flourish or two to its existing Surface lineup, for instance, and both feature updates to Windows 10 have turned out to be fairly inconsequential.

As we’ve done in recent years, we list the highlights, low points, and yes, “what the hell was that??!” moments, closing with what we think Microsoft needs to work on most for 2019.

WIN: Microsoft’s conference room of the future

Everyone loves a killer tech demo, and Microsoft showed off a doozy at its Build conference: a conference room of the future where Cortana could both hear and see, identifying users as they walked in. The demo showed off not only Microsoft’s AI technologies, but also its transcription and translation capabilities, as well as the power of its cloud services. Microsoft’s vision may never come to pass, but let’s hope it does. This is exactly the type of forward-looking thinking we like to see.

FAIL: Windows 10 S

In March, Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore went on record claiming that Microsoft “expect[s] the majority of customers to enjoy” Windows 10 in S Mode in 2019. That may still happen, but whew!—right now, it looks like a major overstatement on Microsoft’s part.

To be fair, Windows 10 S has two redeeming features: One, it enables demonstrably longer battery life within laptops that used Qualcomm processors; and two, it forces the use of Microsoft Edge, which has finally evolved into a decent browser.

Dan Masaoka

The ease with which users could “switch” out of S Mode meant that user engagement time was probably minimal.

Here’s the problem: The Venn diagram merging those who use Edge and who also use a Qualcomm-based PC probably amounts to a small fraction of the user base. Everyone else just sees Microsoft trying to force a locked-down OS upon them.

WTF: Microsoft’s consumer conundrum continues

Is Microsoft still a consumer company? Microsoft’s decision to join Movies Anywhere, its talk of extending Game Pass to PC games, and numerous initiatives within its Xbox console division (from buying up major studios to Xbox Games to the Xbox Adaptive Controller with Gold and Game Pass) says the company still is. The demises of Windows phones, Groove Music, and (possibly?) Cortana suggest it isn’t.

IDG / Hayden Dingman

For many, the face of Microsoft’s consumer efforts is its Xbox division.

We just wish there were a consumer advocate across the company, so that people using Windows could be assured of having a PC-centric games store to complement the Xbox marketplace. No one knows from year to year what Microsoft’s stance will be, sowing uncertainty.

WIN: The Xbox Adaptive Controller

There’s one consumer area where Microsoft has delivered consistently. Year in and year out, Microsoft champions those who don’t use its products in ordinary ways, and designs extraordinary means of allowing those people access. The PC boasts technologies from eye tracking to Windows’ Narrator. But the Xbox has lacked something similar—until the Xbox Adaptive Controller debuted.

Microsoft

Though the massive, iconic touchpads dominate the Xbox Adaptive Controller, it’s the flexibility the ports engender that enables gaming for a large number of people who would otherwise go without.

Boasting two large touchpads that make gaming easier for those with limited mobility, the controller also boasts several input jacks to adapt the gaming experience for particular needs. The Adaptive Controller is an exemplary product, and worthy of praise.

FAIL: Microsoft ends free Windows 10 upgrade

In January, the “assistive loophole” closed, ending the last opportunity to upgrade from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 for free. Now, you’re forced to pay $139 for Windows 10 Home, and sometimes more for standalone media. While we see where Microsoft’s coming from, we would have chosen a different path. Microsoft should have taken steps to prevent new Windows 8 licenses from being sold, and continued to charge for new Windows 10 licenses. But in our view, it should always be free to upgrade from Windows 8, or even Windows 7.

Mark Hachman / IDG

Man, doesn’t 2016 seem like ages ago?

WIN: Windows 10 DirectX ray tracing is magic

Up until now, PCs have modeled real life by simulating textures painted onto 3D polygons—enough to put out a pretty convincing simulacrum of an alien planet, but still a bit off. Microsoft, together with Nvidia’s RTX hardware, unveiled a new version of DirectX that enables ray tracing—actually modelling photons as they fly through the air. It’s essentially true photorealism: expensive, computationally intensive, and utterly jaw-dropping. PC graphics changed forever this year, and Microsoft enabled the shift.

Nvidia

Ray tracing—modeling “photons” as they fly through the air, reflect, and move through translucent surfaces—is hugely expensive and still limited in its use by games. But doesn’t it look marvelous?

FAIL: Windows 10 April and October 2018 Updates

Both of Microsoft’s Windows 10 feature updates for 2018 felt underwhelming from the get-go, without the customary introductory hoopla that has accompanied past releases. Consider our Windows 10 April 2018 Update review: Timeline and Near Sharing were the marquee features, though I doubt either gets much love from users. (I use the notification-blocking Focus Assist pretty frequently, though.)

Mark Hachman/IDG

Windows 10’s Timeline feature. How much do you use it?

As for the Windows 10 October 2018 Update—oy, the less said, the better. A step down from the April 2018 Update, Cloud Clipboard and the Your Phone app were its neatest tricks. But the October Update will forever be known for being pulled after it was found to delete data, and then later reissued in November. Microsoft scarcely promoted one of its key victories: polishing Edge to become a decent browser.

WTF: Edge’s shift over to Chromium

But even if Edge has finally succeeded, no one cares. At the beginning of 2017, Microsoft’s built-in Edge browser held 3.32 percent market share, according to Net Applications. By November 2018, it had reached 4.22 percent.

How many features of Edge, such as its per-site media autoplay controls, will carry over to “Microsoft Chromedge”?

WIN: Office 2019 and the triumph of subscriptions

A win for Microsoft, a loss for you: When the standalone Office 2019 debuted this year, you could just feel Microsoft’s lack of enthusiasm. As we noted way back in 2017, Microsoft doesn’t want you to buy Office 2019. Instead, the company wants you to pay and pay and pay for Office 365, in a subscription that renews every year.

Microsoft

Water bill, gas bill, Office bill, trash bill, property tax...

Office 2019 is therefore a slice in time, while Office 365 continues to add features every month. In Microsoft’s defense, that’s a perfectly valid model, and the company highlights the new features that it continually adds. But you can’t help but feel a bit used by Office-as-a-service, too.

FAIL: Cortana stumbles, fades into the background

Remember just two years ago (!!) when we were surprised to see Google Assistant emerge as something more than just a series of notification cards? Today, Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant vie for dominance, while Cortana has remained relatively static (and Siri’s just an afterthought).